Jewish Diaspora and the Stakes of Nationalism: Margarete Susman’s Theodicy
This article unpacks Margarete Susman’s political and theological arguments at the core of her reading of the Book of Job. As I show through a reading of her oeuvre, Susman rejects political projects that she takes to be based on eschatology such as political Zionism. However, Susman shoul...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-02-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/2/103 |
| _version_ | 1819154279663927296 |
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| author | Yael Almog |
| author_facet | Yael Almog |
| author_sort | Yael Almog |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article unpacks Margarete Susman’s political and theological arguments at the core of her reading of the Book of Job. As I show through a reading of her oeuvre, Susman rejects political projects that she takes to be based on eschatology such as political Zionism. However, Susman should not be viewed merely as a critic of Zionism. I argue that an analysis tuned to the historical circumstances of her writing should recognize her stance on the nation-building project in Palestine as ambivalent rather than antagonistic. Susman’s conception of the Jewish spirit as rooted in self-sacrifice allows her to appreciate the national aspirations at the core of the Zionist project while rejecting Zionism’s exclusion of other Jewish national projects. I contend that Susman’s understanding of Jewish messianism as immanent rather than teleological informs her ambivalence toward Zionism as well as her original vision of Jewish political action. I argue in closing that Susman’s theodicy offers a novel vision for Jewish ethics that is not limited to the historical moment of its formulation. Susman’s theodicy also resonates within contemporary debates on Jewish diaspora in providing a non-centralized vision of Jewish national projects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T15:18:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e3de74563cca4a33a28cd6b3ae783487 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T15:18:34Z |
| publishDate | 2019-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-e3de74563cca4a33a28cd6b3ae7834872022-12-21T18:21:41ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442019-02-0110210310.3390/rel10020103rel10020103Jewish Diaspora and the Stakes of Nationalism: Margarete Susman’s TheodicyYael Almog0Department of Evangelical Theology, Goethe University, 60323 Frankfurt, GermanyThis article unpacks Margarete Susman’s political and theological arguments at the core of her reading of the Book of Job. As I show through a reading of her oeuvre, Susman rejects political projects that she takes to be based on eschatology such as political Zionism. However, Susman should not be viewed merely as a critic of Zionism. I argue that an analysis tuned to the historical circumstances of her writing should recognize her stance on the nation-building project in Palestine as ambivalent rather than antagonistic. Susman’s conception of the Jewish spirit as rooted in self-sacrifice allows her to appreciate the national aspirations at the core of the Zionist project while rejecting Zionism’s exclusion of other Jewish national projects. I contend that Susman’s understanding of Jewish messianism as immanent rather than teleological informs her ambivalence toward Zionism as well as her original vision of Jewish political action. I argue in closing that Susman’s theodicy offers a novel vision for Jewish ethics that is not limited to the historical moment of its formulation. Susman’s theodicy also resonates within contemporary debates on Jewish diaspora in providing a non-centralized vision of Jewish national projects.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/2/103theodicyZionismdiasporamodern Jewish historyMargarete SusmanGerman-Jewish history |
| spellingShingle | Yael Almog Jewish Diaspora and the Stakes of Nationalism: Margarete Susman’s Theodicy Religions theodicy Zionism diaspora modern Jewish history Margarete Susman German-Jewish history |
| title | Jewish Diaspora and the Stakes of Nationalism: Margarete Susman’s Theodicy |
| title_full | Jewish Diaspora and the Stakes of Nationalism: Margarete Susman’s Theodicy |
| title_fullStr | Jewish Diaspora and the Stakes of Nationalism: Margarete Susman’s Theodicy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Jewish Diaspora and the Stakes of Nationalism: Margarete Susman’s Theodicy |
| title_short | Jewish Diaspora and the Stakes of Nationalism: Margarete Susman’s Theodicy |
| title_sort | jewish diaspora and the stakes of nationalism margarete susman s theodicy |
| topic | theodicy Zionism diaspora modern Jewish history Margarete Susman German-Jewish history |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/2/103 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yaelalmog jewishdiasporaandthestakesofnationalismmargaretesusmanstheodicy |